Leaf&Core

The Pebble’s (Kind of) Back. Does it Still Matter?

Danielle from Leaf and Core
Reading Time: 7 minutes.

I’ve always liked watches. Even as a kid. Just a little piece of jewelry that looks cool and fun and serves a purpose? So cool. I like things with utility and cool looks. I love gadgets. I love gadgets that look like gadgets, not something trying to be some cold metal smoothed lump. When smartphones began to become more mature, in the early 2010’s, we were obsessed with them. The internet in your pocket. Information at a glance! But getting out your phone, unlocking it, just to see a notification seemed a bit much. I want the data now! A new idea emerged: the smart watch. I was one of its earliest champions, an early backer of what became known as the first mainstream smartwatch: the Pebble. For years, I’d field questions about it. “Smart… watch,” they’d ask. Yes, a smart watch. I loved it.

Until I didn’t.

The Pebble died, bought out by Fitbit and later Google. Apple never let it run to its full potential on iOS anyway. I switched to an Apple Watch. At first, I liked it. But eventually I just found it annoying. Constant alerts and buzzing for all my apps. Giving me daily fitness reminders when I look at it instead of telling me the goddamn time. I tossed it in a tech junk drawer, only taking it out for occasional exercise tracking. I went back to the past, to the 80’s and 90’s, even, with Swatch watches. Eventually Casio, Timex, and some other brands as well. I loved these inexpensive, cute, and functional timepieces, and I became a watch person again. Just not for smart watches. Real watches were all I was interested in again. I was always a bit ahead of the fashion curve, but I’ve slowly started to notice others doing the same. Ditching their Apple Watches for real watches. The authenticity revolution had begun.

And now the Pebble is kind of back. I was excited at first, a bit nostalgic, even. Then I realized, I just don’t care anymore. Tech is boring. Modern technology looks just like tech from a decade ago and this is literally a remake/upgrade of a watch from a decade ago. Nothing’s changing anymore. The monopolies won and innovation is dead. But could something new bring my love of tech back? Could a different style of smart watch have me reaching for a Pebble again instead of a Swatch?

Doubtful, but I had to try.

RePebble and the Core Watches: Don’t Call it a Pebble

My first two smartwatches. I was obsessed.

On RePebble, not to be confused with rebbel, who kept Pebble watches working over the past few years, you can find new “Core” smartwatches. They’re not “Pebble” anymore. Pebble still belongs to Google. However, with the Pebble operating system now open-sourced, anyone can make a PebbleOS watch, and Pebble’s founder, Eric Migicovsky, has been eager to bring Pebble back. His new company, Core Devices will make two Pebble-like watches running PebbleOS, the Core 2 Duo and Core Time 2. They’ve been improved for the times, but still resemble and work like the original Pebble watches, thus the “2” version numbers in their names.

Core Devices’ New… Devices:

The two devices are clearly both upgrades to the Pebble 2 and the Pebble Time 2. The name seems inspired by their “Pebble Core” device. The Core Time 2 may be more of an upgraded Pebble Time 2, however it retains the original Pebble design, like the Core 2 Duo. According to Migicovsky, this is because “I like the Pebble 2 form – I think it’s more classic Pebble.” I agree, Pebble Time features in the original Pebble form factor is my dream Pebble, and the Core Time 2 is bringing that. It looks unique, feels like a gadget. It’s more unique to their design language instead of being another boring rounded square on my wrist.

I do wish they made some changes though. I’ve never liked the extra wide 22mm watch band. I also hate the “better watch is bigger” nonsense. Women’s watches are typically smaller, and women shouldn’t have to choose between a watch that fits on their wrist and all the best features. It’s a shame so many tech companies need to be constantly reminded that women exist. We see the same issue in cellphones too big for our hands and pockets (I switched to wearing baggy cargo pants and I’m never going back) and even smartwatches with advanced features only in the giant models.

However, if you liked the Pebble, Pebble Time, or managed to get your hands on a Pebble 2 before the buyout, then you may just love the new watches for their upgraded buttons, vibration motor, screens, and new 30-day battery life. These are everything you loved about the Pebble, remade with modern tech.

Do These Solve Smartwatch Problems?

I forgot how bulky the Pebble is until I compared it to a similar Casio

Smart watches seem to be declining in popularity. I see more people wearing real watches, often cheap digital Casio watches (I’m a huge fan). The issues with smart watches are many. They’re expensive, require frequent updates, sometimes work differently than you’d expect, are huge and ugly, need to be replaced every few years instead of being kept forever, require daily charging, and they’re so damn annoying with constant alerts, notifications, reminders, and features that are difficult to turn off. Really, they’re just inauthentic. They’ve gotten a reputation for being uncool and fake. They have big worksona energy. They’re not the real you, they’re a lie.

But the new Core watches are outsiders. They don’t carry the reputation of the boring Apple, Samsung, Google, or Garmin watch crowd. They’re small, indie. Their watches last for weeks on end because they’re simple. But I still can’t set the time on mine because it disconnected from my iPhone and I don’t feel like sideloading the app on one of my devices right now. Android 15 even gives me warnings about Pebble’s old apk when I sideload it.

Sustainability is still an issue. The original Pebbles require some clever setup to keep running. Eventually those lithium ion batteries will go bad, swell up, maybe even start a small fire. The screen on my first Pebble died and rather than replace the screen and send me back my original Pebble, which was a special Kickstarter edition, I just got a new one from the company. Core Devices only offers a 30 day warranty to cover defects that show up in the first month of ownership. These won’t last, like a quartz watch from the 80’s can still be running fine or an old manually wound watch from a century ago can still work. These are destined for a landfill. There’s always going to be something disingenuous about technology that isn’t built to last forever. I mean, damn, I have to jump through hoops to set the time on my old Pebble if I just wanted to wear it as a fun fashion statement!

Then there’s the design. It’s copied from the design from a decade ago, and feels a bit retro. Retro is in. Plus, it doesn’t look like any of the other generic smart devices on the market. The Apple Watch borrowed its design from the iPhone 6, 10 generations of device ago, and still hasn’t changed. While that design feels dated, the Pebble felt retro and organic from the beginning. I think it still retains some cool factor for this alone. The Core watches can carry on that design language, and I think it works great for them.

While I was taking photos of my existing Pebble next to a similar watch, a Casio calculator watch I modified, my laundry finished up. I decided to quickly take it out and hang it up. My watched buzzed me twice during that time period, once to tell me that I had enough battery left to last until the afternoon, then again to say I actually had enough to last me until tomorrow morning. It’s not even connected to a device and it had to bug me twice within 5 minutes! Smartwatches may just always be annoying. At least the Pebble has a “quiet time” mode you could enable at night. I wonder if they’d consider a 24/7 quiet time mode.

Apple’s Monopolistic Bullshit Remains

Let’s say you actually do want messages on your wrist. On the iPhone, that’s still going to not work well. iOS is locked down to only work with the Apple Watch. Every other device has extreme limitations. Apple does not have any kind of approval program like the MFI program that allows accessory makers access to things like notifications and replies. Instead, it seems any attempt to compete with Apple’s smartwatch is squashed by monopolistic business decisions in the name of “security.”

The Core smartwatches, like the Pebble before them, will be best on an Android device. If you want a fully featured smartwatch and don’t want an Apple Watch, support lawsuits against Apple or just switch to Android. Apple doesn’t want you to have choices. I had hoped that, once FitBit and Google had Pebble, they’d sue Apple and force it to open up. Perhaps the EU would force Apple to offer more options for accessories. Instead, Google just released their own watch and lawmakers have been silent on Apple’s clear monopolistic behavior. Samsung and others have been content leaning into this monopolistic behavior themselves. Migicovsky is hopeful that the EU’s DMA Article 6 could force Apple top open up their Apple Watch APIs, however that likely won’t help anyone outside of the EU.

Pebble Came Back, and I Don’t Care?

Maybe it’s because the Apple Watch has become a boring, maybe it’s all the ecosystem locking that most companies do. Smart watches are just boring now. I have just about zero interest in smartwatches anymore. When I heard Eric Migicovsky was back with a new smartwatch that carried on the spirit of the Pebble, even running PebbleOS, I felt far more apathetic towards it than I would have just five years ago. I look down at the colorful Swatch on my wrist (it changes colors depending on how the light hits it!), I can’t imagine thinking, “Gee, I sure wish this was bulky, required frequent charging, and buzzed every five minutes!”

I love picking out watches that match my outfits, and giant bulky watch with a screen you have to tap or shake to get up to full brightness goes with nothing.

I loved my original Pebble and Pebble Time, and used them for years when I was into smartwatches. But I grew out of the very idea of a smartwatch. Disconnecting from my device addiction is more important to be than being constantly on. Gadgets are often a distraction from real experiences. I’m seeing that more now. The Core devices have a chance to feel more organic, but they also might feel like just another smartwatch. And who really needs to be tied to their devices anymore?

Anyway, I preordered the Core Time 2. Nostalgia won in the end. Let’s see if it holds up.

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